At Tatiana Lisovskaya

The set has various virtues in its favor. Richter conducts an orchestra of modern instruments somewhat stolidly, but always with lyrical polish and sumptuous tone, and one can enjoy its lush richness, however anachronistic it may be. Nor are his tempos stereotypically sluggish; many of the sprightlier moments bounce along energetically. The soprano role of Cleopatra is sung by a young Tatiana Troyanos, who later became a celebrated mezzo-soprano (and eventually undertook the title role in stage productions, making her perhaps the first singer in history to undertake the roles of both Cleopatra and Caesar). It’s interesting to hear her in her earlier soprano incarnation. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau makes a valiant baritone effort at Caesar’s alto arias and, while he avoids the woolly grumbling some bass-baritones make of the part, seems less than emotionally committed. His second aria, “L’empio diro, tu sei,” for example, sounds polite and cautious rather than raging and indignant.

Shostakovich - Preludes & Fugues for Piano. Op.87 Nos.1-10 - Tatiana Nikolaeva (1990)
Melodiya | USSR | SUCD 10-00073 | 1990 | 1 CD | EAC Rip | FLAC (img + cue), LOG | 10 Tracks | TT 59:26 | Covers (jpg 300 dpi) | RAR 180 MB + 3% Recovery | FSonic/FServe
Classical / Instrumental / Piano

24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 by Dmitri Shostakovich. The cycle is an extremely profound work of great mastery. These are 24 masterpieces, each with a world of its own. They must and can be compared to Bach's cycle. It is a new world in polyphony. Tatiana Nikolaeva USSR People's Artist, graduated with honours from two departments of the Moscow Conservatoire: piano and composition. For over 30 years Tatiana Nikolaeva has been playing Shostakovich's cycle "24 Preludes and Fugues", especially actively during the last years. The full cycle "24 Preludes and Fugues" by D. Shostakovich performed by T. Nikolaeva is recorded on three CDs.

Shostakovich - Preludes & Fugues for Piano. Op.87 Nos.11-16 - Tatiana Nikolaeva (1990)
Melodiya | USSR | SUCD 10-00074 | 1990 | 1 CD | EAC Rip | FLAC (img + cue), LOG | 6 Tracks | TT 46:45 | Covers (jpg 300 dpi) | RAR 136 MB + 3% Recovery | FSonic/FServe
Classical / Instrumental / Piano

24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 by Dmitri Shostakovich. The cycle is an extremely profound work of great mastery. These are 24 masterpieces, each with a world of its own. They must and can be compared to Bach's cycle. It is a new world in polyphony. Tatiana Nikolaeva USSR People's Artist, graduated with honours from two departments of the Moscow Conservatoire: piano and composition. For over 30 years Tatiana Nikolaeva has been playing Shostakovich's cycle "24 Preludes and Fugues", especially actively during the last years. The full cycle "24 Preludes and Fugues" by D. Shostakovich performed by T. Nikolaeva is recorded on three CDs.

Shostakovich - Preludes & Fugues for Piano. Op.87 Nos.17-24 - Tatiana Nikolaeva (1990)
Melodiya | USSR | SUCD 10-00075 | 1990 | 1 CD | EAC Rip | FLAC (img + cue), LOG | 8 Tracks | TT 61:04 | Covers (jpg 300 dpi) | RAR 186 MB + 3% Recovery | FSonic/FServe
Classical / Instrumental / Piano

24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 by Dmitri Shostakovich. The cycle is an extremely profound work of great mastery. These are 24 masterpieces, each with a world of its own. They must and can be compared to Bach's cycle. It is a new world in polyphony. Tatiana Nikolaeva USSR People's Artist, graduated with honours from two departments of the Moscow Conservatoire: piano and composition. For over 30 years Tatiana Nikolaeva has been playing Shostakovich's cycle "24 Preludes and Fugues", especially actively during the last years. The full cycle "24 Preludes and Fugues" by D. Shostakovich performed by T. Nikolaeva is recorded on three CDs.

Set against the magnificent backdrop of Lake Constance, every production at the Bregenz Festival faces strong natural competitors. But with this first-ever production of Verdi’s “Aida” (in an abridged version) on the lakeside stage, it is easy to overlook the beauty of the surrounding nature. Stage director Graham Vick and set designer Paul Brown conjure up an “open-air spectacle of superlatives” (Die Zeit) that throws a bridge between ancient Egypt and today’s U.S..

On the heels of the recent excellent Clemenza DVD from Opus Arte, comes this DGG DVD of a beautiful film of the opera directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. It was filmed on location in Rome at the Baths of Caracalla, the Arch of Titus and at the Villa Adriana in Tivoli from 10 May-16 June 1980 with the sound recording made in Vienna at Wien-Film 6-12 May 1980. Ponnelle favored singers lip synching their arias so that they might concentrate on acting, thus improving the dramatic aspect of opera. It seems to work here. Clemenza, more than most Mozart operas, relies on lengthy expository recitatives to further the story. These recitatives, as is well known, were not written by Mozart but by his assistants, probably Sussmayr. Slightly less effective as they are, any dramatic enhancements are an improvement…

This film sees the world première video recording of Penderecki's first opera The Devils of Loudun, filmed shortly after its world première in 1969 at the Hamburg State Opera.